AZN vs NVS

AstraZeneca PLC and Novartis AG, both Healthcare

Novartis AG is the larger company at $296B against $288B. On trailing earnings NVS is the cheaper of the two at a P/E of 20.4 against 26.4, a gap that is only a bargain if the two are growing at similar rates. Over the past year NVS returned +14% against +2.2% for AZN.

AstraZeneca PLC and Novartis AGcompared on valuation, return and Ryufin’s Smart Score
FigureAZNNVS
Last close$160$138
Market cap$288B$296B
Trailing P/Elower is cheaper for the same earnings, not automatically better26.420.4
1-year return+2.2%+14%
5-year return+57%+80%
Ryufin Smart Scoresector-relative, 1–109/109/10

Figures from SEC filings and end-of-day closes. Highlighting marks the higher or lower number, which is not the same as the better investment, a low P/E can be a warning and a high one can be deserved.

AstraZeneca PLC

Revenue of $31B in H2 2025, net income $4.9B.

Novartis AG

Revenue of $27B in H2 2025, net income $6.3B.

Open these two in the interactive comparison to add more names, change the period or see the correlation.